


Love and Other Acts of Courage

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/F, Gen, Lesbian Courier, Non explicit threats of rape, Violence, mild homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 00:52:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16315991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: Veronica and Arcade are captured by the Legion, but August knows what she has to do.





	Love and Other Acts of Courage

August isn't sure how they surround them so quickly, but a veritable platoon of legionaries overwhelm her and her friends so fast that she can barely blink.  It's hard to keep track of Veronica and Arcade in the fray, but her heart drops out of her chest as the booms of the Two Step Goodbye and the familiar zings of Arcade's plasma pistol go quiet.  

One of the goons tries to grab her, but she manages to slice through his arm.  She backs up, and she realizes that both Veronica and Arcade have been captured by the legionaries.  

Veronica's hands are tied behind her back and she's bleeding profusely from her arm and forehead.  Arcade's arms aren't bound because one of his arms is bent at an odd angle. The other is holding his stomach. 

“Fucking run, August!” Veronica says.  “Get out of here.”

The still surviving legionaries watching them are leering at them both and August knows what she has to do.  This isn’t happening again. 

August throws her beloved Gehenna aside and pulls out the pistol she barely uses.  Seems wrong to toss away the gun Benny shot her with. 

“Hey, you fucks!  Let them go,” August says, holding Maria pressed to her temple.  “Take me instead. I'm the one you want, anyway.”

“You're going to kill yourself for us? That's what we're going for,” the legionnaire with the stupidest hat says.  

“I killed your Caesar.  I killed your Legate,” August says, cocking the gun with a loud click.  “I think whatever ass is leading you now will want to do it himself. And he'll want to make it good.  You can bring him two grunts or you can bring him the ruler of New Vegas and the Hoover Dam.”

Stupid Hat considers for a moment before nodding.  

“You have a deal, profligate.  We will free your friends and you will come with us.”

One of the soldiers cuts Veronica’s hands free, and both she and Arcade are shoved forward.

“What are you doing?” Veronica hisses as they walk by.

“What I have to,” August says.  She remembers the burning shame of letting Lawrence and that man she can’t remember down.  That’s not happening again. Not ever. “You guys get out of here. And I mean it- get.”

Arcade catches her eye, but doesn’t say anything.  His face is drawn and pale, growing paler by the moment.  There’s sorrow there; he was at the Fort when she killed Caesar.  He knows what’s going through her head and why fighting her on this isn’t going to work.  Not that either of them look like they’re up for fighting anyone.

“Come on, Veronica,” Arcade says softly.  “Let’s go.”

“You coward.  You absolute coward,” Veronica says to him.

“Veronica.  Go,” August says, looking at the Legion troops warily.  “Before they get antsy.”

August turns away before either of them can say anything else, but she listens hard to their retreating footsteps.  Good. As long as they make it out of here. Then, whatever may come will be worth it, at least.

“Hand over the gun,” Stupid Hat says.

“Not yet.  Not until I know they’re safe,” August says.

“We are not going to wait here for your inevitable profligate betrayal of our deal,” Stupid Hat says.  

“Then we move.  But I keep my gun, trained on me,” August says.

Stupid Hat nods slowly.  “But first, you need to take off your armor.  Don’t want any hidden surprises.”

August swallows hard as she carefully slides off her pack and it thuds to the ground.  Her armor follows quickly, Mika’s voice plaintive in her ear before cutting off completely.  Standing in her underclothes- shorts and a sports bra- she feels incredibly exposed. This… this she doesn’t like at all.

August keeps her gun pressed tight to her head as she walks like it’s the only thing able to save her life, ignoring her tiring arm.   Her arm starts to shake, but still she ignores it. If she lets it drop, there’s no telling what they’ll do to her before handing her over.  They certainly give her a few unpleasant ideas with their jeers.

It grows dark, as it often does in the late evening, and the legionaries come to a halt, setting up a temporary camp.  

“Going to keep that up all night?’ Stupid Hat asks, nearly kindly.  “Your arm must be sore.”

“Planning on,” August says as she sits down on a rock.  

The metal is still pressed against her skull, and honestly, she’s starting to worry that her finger is going to slip.  God, that would be a way to go, assuming Maria could kill her properly this time.

“You are fascinating,” Stupid Hat purrs, sitting next to her, just out of arm’s reach.  “Such a shame there’s so much between us.”

August just looks at him.  This is the most awkward seduction attempt ever.  She’s not even going to dignify it with a response.  

Stupid Hat seems to regard it as more of a challenge than anything else.  He leans forward, not hiding the way his gaze roves over her exposed skin.

“Trust me.  I’m a gentlemen compared to these dogs,” Stupid Hat says.  “Just put the gun down, and we can get to know each other much better.  Have some fun before you die.”

“The woman who killed your Caesar and your Legate is a lesbian,” August says.  “Profligate and a sodomite and a woman. Even if I wasn’t- quite frankly, I’d rather die.”

Stupid Hat spits at her, hitting her right on her shoulder.  He has shitty aim, too. At least he gets up and leaves her alone after throwing out one last, “we’ll fix that,” out at her.  

As the night wears on, August starts to tire.  She wants to close her eyes for a moment, just to rest, but she knows that she can’t.  

Maybe this is justice, for whatever she let happen to Lawrence and the other man in her memories at the hands of the Legion.  She’ll have horrors in store to rival theirs, and she will deserve each one.

Maybe she should be trying to figure a way out, but there are a half dozen men watching her at any given time, and she knows she won’t be able to slip away.  She feels weak from lack of water and sleep; she had been travelling with Veronica and Arcade at a fairly strenuous pace even before this march. 

The dark red of the approaching sun lets August know that she’s going to have to move soon.  Unfortunate, given the way her body currently feels like a statue come to life, she’s not sure if she’s going to be able to move- or worse, she’s certain she’ll trip over the first bit of uneven terrain they come across.  At that point, she’ll either lose her gun or splatter her brains across the Mojave. 

The early morning calm is shattered by a laser cannon, and August is on her feet in an instant.  Her knees buckle, but her arm drops to her side, aching. 

Stupid Hat isn't that far away, so while her first instinct is to run, her stronger instinct is to shoot.  She raises her arm and takes aim with Maria. 

The click is hollow.  She thought she had loaded Maria a couple weeks ago, but apparently not.  

Well, good to know.  

Stupid Hat is coming towards her, trying to rally the men. However, they're distracted.  The laser cannon blast has turned into a barrage coming from behind her. 

August flips the gun so she's holding the barrel.  She's not running. Yet, at least. 

Stupid Hat draws a machete and August kind of regrets not running when she had the chance.  Ah well. 

August surges forward, swinging Maria with all her might.  She catches Stupid Hat on the ribcage and he catches her on the other arm.  

“Shit,” August hisses. 

He's holding himself gingerly, and August tries to press her slight advantage by swinging for him again.  She hits his hand, hard enough to make a crack ring out. 

Fear flashes across Stupid Hat's face, and August grins wide.  

But cornered beasts are dangerous, and Stupid Hat is no exception.  He tackles her, taking her by surprise. 

August manages to swing enough to get him to drop the machete, but they still end up in a heap.  The weight of him on top of her feels like suffocating, but she refuses to let panic overwhelm her.  

His good hand is scrabbling for her neck, and August slams both of her hands up into his face.  It's enough to stun him, and she shifts her hips to flip them. 

“Having fun yet?” August asks as she reaches for the discarded Maria.  

A few hits to the head later, and there’s a dent in Stupid Hat’s head deep enough that he’s going to need a new hat.  

August rolls off of him, sprawling out.  She should get up and run as far and as fast as she can, but she can’t get up.  

“Howdy pardner!” Yes-Man’s beautiful face appears in his view.  “Bit of a pickle in here, I see.”

“Holy shit.  Am I dead? Are you God?  I knew it!” August says, dazed.  Her voice drops to a mutter. “Arcade and Veronica both owe me ten thousand caps.”

“Aw, you’re sweet!  But no! We came to rescue you!” Yes-Man says.  “You’re alive, August!”

August pulls herself into a sitting position.  The quick camp the Legion set up is nothing but smoking ash.  There are a half dozen other Securitrons milling about, presumably making sure all the Legion troops are dead.  

“Cool.  Good job, my friend.  Thank you,” August says.  

“Of course, August!  It’d be silly to let you die after helping take control of Vegas!  We work real well together,” Yes-Man says.

August snorts, but then her heart drops as she remembers the situation that led to her capture.  “Yes-Man, you didn’t see Veronica and Arcade, did you? They can’t be far- we need to find them. Now.”

Ready to start the search, August gets all the way to her feet.  She has to lean heavily on Yes-Man, but she’s up. They have to find Veronica and Arcade.

“Woah there,” Yes-Man says.  “Don’t worry! They found us, actually!  They sent us to rescue you. They wanted to come, too, but I sent them back to Vegas!  With an escort! I figured you would want them safe! And they didn’t look up to fighting!”

“Good job, Yes-Man,” August says, patting his arm.  

Yes-Man seems to glow a bit.  “Would you mind terribly if I gave you a lift back to Vegas?  Your legs don’t seem like they want to carry you!”

August snorts.  “Sounds good to me, buddy.  Lets go.”

Yes-Man scoops her up easily, bridal style, and August lets her head lull backwards.  She watches the cloudless sky in a daze. While she knows she should ask Yes-Man to stop and give her some water, she doesn’t think she can move her body parts.  That’s fine.

The red of the morning is starting to fade into the bright blue of day time, and August is pretty sure she’s going to fall up into it.  Vague memories come to her- a less vibrant sky that felt like home, once; looking up and then back down to see Lawrence running at her, eyes alight with something lost to her now; staring up at the sky and then being distracted by a woman whose face she can’t remember kissing her, hard and familiar; deep blue water and her certain thought that she could swim it forever, despite the radiation- and she lets them wash over her, one after another as Yes-Man rolls along.

He’s surprisingly comfortable, or maybe it’s just the fact that she’s nearly unconscious.  She can’t quite reach that blessed quiet, however, so she just lays there. 

August couldn’t say how long they roll for, but Yes-Man stops eventually to give her some water and let her stretch her legs.  She swallows down the water greedily, and she’s glad that her legs actually want to support her weight now. 

It’s another epoch until the lights of her city shine down on her.  Oh, good, it’s nighttime. She didn’t really want everyone to see her like this.  

“August!” Veronica’s voice makes her stir from her reverie.  “Goodness, I can’t-”

“Veronica, don’t.  Nothing is going to knock off August,” Arcade’s voice cuts her off.  

Right, draping herself across Yes-Man’s arms probably makes her look like a limp corpse.  So she kind of half sits up, which has the added benefit of making her fall out of Yes-Man’s tender grip since she forgot to warn him that she was going to move.

August lands on her ass with a grunt, and she looks up at Veronica and Arcade with a tired grin.

“What Arcade said,” August says.  “Hey, babe.”

Veronica doesn’t say anything, just crosses the space between them and holds her close.  

“Don’t you ever do that again,” Veronica says, voice damp with feeling.  “What the fuck, August?”

“Couldn’t let them have you and Arcade,” August says, leaning against her.  “I’m fine. Yes-Man saved me- thanks again, buddy. It’s okay.”

“Let’s get you inside,” Veronica says, helping her to her feet.  “Have Arcade take a look at you.”

“It’s gonna cost you,” Arcade says as he comes around to her other side.  “It’s after hours, after all.”

“I think I have the caps,” August says.  

* * *

Arcade insists that Veronica wait outside while he looks her over after she showers quickly.  He binds injuries that she didn’t even realize that she had, not quite making eye contact with her until he’s all done.  

“Now, I asked Veronica to wait outside because I know how the Legion treats its female prisoners.  I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable- and I can get a female doctor from the Mormon Fort, if you’d prefer, but I know how you value your privacy- but, uh, I wanted to make sure you-”

“I appreciate your attempts to make me comfortable, Arcade,” August says, cutting him off.  “But I kept the gun trained on myself at all times to keep them at bay. They got… colorful about what they’d like to do to me, but they didn’t.  One spat on me, but that’s it.”

“That’s, uh, good to hear?” Arcade says.

August feels the exhaustion of the last couple days creep up on her, and she inhales sharply.  She’s not about to go to pieces in front of Arcade, though, so she just nods as she swallows down the lump in her throat.  

“Thank you.  For what you did.  And please stop making me think you might be dead because you’re probably my best friend.  And I really don’t like to think about you being tortured and killed,” Arcade says. 

“‘Probably?’” August says, smiling a bit and nudging him.  “First of all, ouch.”

Arcade smiles back at her, finally looking at her.  “Drink some water. Snuggle with your girlfriend. Sleep in late tomorrow, and take it easy for a couple weeks.  I’ll be by to check your bandages, of course.”

“I’ll do some of that,” August says, getting to her feet.  “Promise.”

Arcade rolls his eyes.  “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

August pulls him into a hug.  He’s not the most touchy feely person, but they make an exception when they almost get killed in some stupid way.  It takes him a moment, but he hugs her back.

When they pull apart, Arcade looks her up and down one last time before nodding towards the door.  If their eyes are both a little damp, neither of them say or acknowledge anything.

“Now, go,” Arcade says, clearing his throat.  “Veronica is about to bust her way in here, I’m sure.  And you smell ripe.”

“You say these things, and I can’t believe Julie ever took you off seeing patients and let you go.  What was she thinking?” August says, shaking her head. “Somehow, her loss is also my loss. Amazing.”

Any dry reply Arcade may have is cut off by her turning and opening the door.  Sure enough, Veronica is waiting on the other side. 

“About time,” Veronica says.  

“I’m okay.  Promise,” August says.  

Veronica slips her hand into August’s as they head to the bedroom.  It’s well into the night now, so out the window they can see the whole Strip lit up.  

“Please tell me that you had an escape plan,” Veronica says once the elevator dings, indicating that Arcade has left the floor.  “That you knew some trick to get away.”

“I’m not going to lie, Veronica.  I just wanted you and Arcade safe, and I only had one thing to trade with,” August says.  “If it helps, I, uh, forgot to load Maria.”

Veronica tilts her head to look at her, and August holds her breath for a moment.  She wonders if this is going to be it, the last straw when Veronica goes to find someone less… complicated.  With fewer near death experiences under her belt. Who isn’t a magnet for the bizarre horrors of the wasteland and has a fully intact memory.

It seems inevitable sometimes.  Veronica deserves more.

But Veronica’s face breaks into a smile and before August knows it, they’re both laughing on the couch they’ve set by the panoramic window.  They lean against each other for support, careful around their tender spots, as the laughter calms down.

“I don’t know if that helps.  I was scared,” Veronica whispers when it’s silent again.

“I’m sorry,” August says.  “I was, too.”

“It just seems like eventually, your luck has to run out,” Veronica says, voice still soft as if she’s worried about waking someone.  “It seems like it’s pretty bad as it is, honestly.”

August shrugs.  “My luck hasn’t been too bad, so far.  I ended up  _ here _ , with you and Arcade and Yes-Man and Julie and the King.  And a robot army. Probably not what I intended when I started courier-ing, but it’s been good.  Good luck.”

Veronica shakes her head.  “If you say so.”

August wraps a tired arm around her, holding her close.  Holding Veronica is much better than holding a gun. Anything would’ve been worth it, to get to hold Veronica again.

“We're going to be okay,” and it's half a question, half assurance.  

“No matter what,” Veronica says.  “I promise.”

August slowly falls asleep like that, curled up with Veronica.  It's good to be home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt: Take me instead. 
> 
> Title from Falling Skies


End file.
